Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Then Yahweh responded to Job, out of a storm, and said: —
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is it that darkeneth counsel, by words, without knowledge?
3 Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.
Gird, I pray thee—like a strong man—thy loins, that I may ask thee, and inform thou me:
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line upon it?
Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; —
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Or [who] shut in, with double doors, the sea, when, bursting out of the womb, it came forth;
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,
When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
And brake off for it my boundary, and fixed a bar and double doors;
11 And said, Until now shall you come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed?
And said—Hitherto, shalt thou come, and no further, —and, here, shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves?
12 Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, and the lawless be shaken out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, so that things stand forth like one arrayed;
15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.
16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?
Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or, through the secret recesses of the resounding deep, hast thou wandered?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry?
18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.
Hast thou well considered, even the breadths of the earth? Tell—if thou knowest it all!
19 Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place?
20 That you should take it to the bound thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof?
That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.
21 Know you it, because you were then born? or because the number of your days is great?
Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many!
22 Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And, the treasuries of the hail, couldst thou see?
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Which I have reserved for a time of distress, for the day of conflict and of war?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?
Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.
25 Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To give rain over the no-man’s land, the desert, where no son of earth is;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, to cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass?
28 Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it?
Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm!
31 Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose?
32 Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons?
Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or, the Bear and her Young, canst thou lead?
33 Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Knowest thou, the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
Canst thou lift up, to the thick cloud, thy voice, and the overflow of waters cover thee?
35 Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say unto you, Here we are?
Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?
Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
Who can count the thin clouds, in wisdom? And, the bottles of the heavens, who can empty out;
38 When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together?
39 Will you hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
Wilt thou hunt—for the Lioness—prey? Or, the craving of the Strong Lion, wilt thou satisfy;
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait?
41 Who provides for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of food.
Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment, —when his young ones—unto GOD—cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food?
